Kentucky Derby 2012: Secret Circle will pass

ARCADIA, Calif. - Secret Circle, a four-time stakes winner who was a well-beaten second to Bodemeister in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park last weekend, will be given a rest in coming weeks and will not start in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5, trainer Bob Baffert said on Thursday.

Baffert said that Secret Circle was undergoing precautionary medical tests at a veterinary clinic in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday. The trainer said that was unlikely that Secret Circle would need any sort of surgery, and that running in the Kentucky Derby was not planned.

Owned by the partnership of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Secret Circle has won 5 of 7 starts and $1,018,990. A colt by Eddington, Secret Circle won two stakes at Oaklawn Park earlier this year – a division of the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes in February and the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes in March.

Last fall, Secret Circle won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint at Churchill Downs.